Trump overturns bill on coal mining debris

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US President Donald Trump signs a bill eliminating regulations on the mining industry in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 16, 2017.
The new law nullifyies a rule from the USDepartment of the Interior aimed at protecting streams. / AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump overturns bill on coal mining debris

US President Donald Trump signs a bill eliminating regulations on the mining industry in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 16, 2017.
The new law nullifyies a rule from the USDepartment of the Interior aimed at protecting streams. / AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has put the brakes on a regulation blocking coal mining debris from being dumped into nearby streams.

Trump called the regulation a “job-killing rule” before he signed a measure to overturn it. Lawmakers from coal-mining states stood close by, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

Several coal miners and energy company executives also attended the White House signing ceremony.

Republicans and some Democrats argued that the rule could eliminate thousands of coal-related jobs. They said the rule also ignored dozens of existing federal, state and local regulations.

The Interior Department said in December when it announced the rule that 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests would be protected.